goldy1

We have been to Florida befor but not to the west coast. we will arrive in La on the 27th dec My husband and son age 13 want to go to vegas to see the startrek exabhition. We will drive there probably 28th or 29th for maybe just 1 night posibly 2 then drive back to La to do Disney.

Any does and don'ts would be gratefully apreciated.

kauai_aka

that's doable. we decided to go to vegas at the last minute and couldn't get a room there - no biggie. it took us 4hrs to get from la to vegas on new years eve, then drove back at 6am to make our 2pm flight.

lots of crazies on the 15 though, going anywhere around 90mph. well it's crazy to me, probably the norm over there.

lvk

Many hotels in Vegas require at least a 2-night minimum for that week between Xmas and New Year. You should start checking for a room now.

dwooddon

I'd also allow plenty of driving time. Four hours one-way is doable if all the stars align just right but it could also easily take six or more in either direction.

Especially in the stretch of highway between Barstow and LV, one bad accident can cause very long delays.

TahitiTams

Driving times from LA to Vegas during New Year's and other holidays can be up to over 8 hours..each way.
It's a mad house.

janisj

Even though NYE isn't until Monday - LV will be slammed over that weekend. Room rates will be sky high, and the drive from LA can be a real pain.

What day(s) does the Star Trek show run? If it you haven't already booked your flights, I'd fly into LV first and then fly or drive to LA for the rest of your holiday.

Dayle

La/Vegas/LA is the worst traffic experience I have had in my lifetime, and I'm a southern CA native!

We had to drive through Vegas coming from Jackson Hole and returning to Orange County on New Year's Day a few years ago. It took us 9 HOURS from Vegas to OC!!!! It was so bad that I-15 was solidly lined with semis and cars parked at the side of the road with people who had just given up and decided to sleep in their cars.

No one could ever pay me enough money to drive through, or from, Vegas on a holiday weekend, or any weekend for that matter. I haven't done it since that experience and that was 11 years ago.....

Take janisj's advice.

bashfulLV

New Year's Eve in Las Vegas is a MEGA-HUGE event - and especially with a weekend right before it - the entire town will be packed to the hilt. You'll be lucky to get ANY rooms by now and you WILL pay dearly for them too. Just beware. Also - the drive that weekend will not be an easy one and will most likely take twice as long as you're expecting it to, like other posters have mentioned. We pull out ALL the stops for New Year's over here and people come from everywhere to party hearty.

smartcookie

as everyone else said:

- Don't drive to Vegas. It will take you 8-12 hours instead of 5. Flying via Southwest.com and VirginAmerica.com is $40-50 each way; 45 min flight

- Almost all hotels are very expensive and have at least 3-night minimums for New Year's since it's huge there. Check to see if you can book something first, before booking flights and planning around it.

- Disneyland is 1 hour from actual LA, not in LA. It may also rain in December, so it wouldn't be fun to go to a theme park then. There are lots of great things to do in LA, but it's a huge city that requires at least 3 days in itself, and you should stay in LA for it even if you're going to Disneyland for 1 day as it's not worth staying near Disneyland an hour away from everything just to go there.

goldy1

we were planing on going to vegas on the sat and drivin back to la on the sunday new years eve. do you think we would miss the trafic?
flying would cost over $400 gas about $50

logandog

If you can go really early on Saturday morning you should be okay. Sundays are normally awful but the position of the holiday may put you in the right direction for reasonable traffic.

janisj

goldy1: I think you've overlooked the issue of it being NY weekend and what that means in LV hotels. I very much doubt you will find a room for just Saturday night. And if you do, it will be MUCH more expensive than the normal room rates.

Driving to Las Vegas that Sat will be tough - driving back on NYE would be fine. But the question is what will you do about a room???

goldy1

we have been looking at a room in the bestwestern Mardi gras. revies seem favourable for price. the other option was super 8 motel 4250 Koval Lane, 1 Block off the Strip, anyone know these 2.

smartcookie

they're fine, though not on the strip. if you can get a reservation just for that 1 night, that would be amazing. and like others said, count on an 8-11 hr drive there on Saturday.

goldy1

We Have booked for the Mardi gras best western. For 2 nights we will set of from LA around 9am on the 28th and hope for the best. Tickets booked for Manilow at the hilton on 30th. then we will drive back to La on 31st for new years eve at disney.

Or first 2 nights in LA when we arive ar booked at the Hilton LAX didn't cost as much as the Vegas rooms but "oh well you only live once". lol

Thanks for the advice.

smartcookie

How much were your rooms at the Hilton by LAX? You can usually get those for $50-75 on Priceline since there are so many of these 3-4 star hotels that usually go empty when there are no conferences in the area. LAX is also not a convenient area to stay in LA. You can't walk anywhere. If you give us your budget, we can suggest some better options. Most people stay in West Hollywood, Hollywood, or Santa Monica. If you want something close to the airport, at least look into Marina del Rey instead.

janisj

I would also suggest staying near LAX isn't such a good idea. Great for an early morning flight out. But as a base for seeing LA - not so much . . . . .

sayko

I am doing a similar trip but in a reverse direction. I am staying in Vegas from 25th for 2 nights then drive to LA for Disney and continue on Santa Monica after that.

Having said, I have been researching for hotels in Las Vegas. It is true that it gets 2 times expensive on Sat & Sun (29th & 30th) plus some has minimum stay requirement. Some hotels still have good rate on Friday 28th, but definitely not 29th & 30th. Go to expedia.com and you can get an idea of the hotel rates. Those rates are probably the same as what you will find in the hotel websites.

MGM Grand has promotional rates up until Dec 29th. Dec 25, 26, 27 are only $100 per night... can't remember the rate for 28th. Then when it gets to 29th and 30th, it jumps to $330!

goldy1

The first 2 nights at Lax are very cheap and booked. We will be recovering from an 11 hour flight so won't want to go too far first day second day we are going to universal studios. We will becoming back to La after Vegas and will have 10 more days to explore. We want to do Disney and se soe other things what would you sugest?

smartcookie

If you want to stay relatively close to your hotel at LAX on your tired day, do Santa Monica and Venice Beach then. You can walk around, shop and have a nice meal there. You can check out the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the same trip as Universal since it's only 10 mins from it.

For your other 10 days, you definitely have the time to do both LA and San Diego. I would spend 5 nights days in LA, 1 night in Anaheim to go to Disneyland (it's 1 hour south of LA, half-way to San Diego), and 3-4 nights in San Diego. I would stay in West Hollywood in LA (check Farmer's Daughter, LeParc Suites, Chamberlain, etc or Hollywood - Orchid Suites, Celebrity Hotel etc). Don't forget to check out the Getty. Then pick a hotel in Anaheim close to Disneyland for 1 night. On the way to SD, stop in Laguna Beach. In SD, look for hotels in Gaslamp if you want to near major restaurants.

In general, I highly recommend reading the free online guidebook at frommers.com. They even have suggested itineraries for each city for free for you.